MP wrongly suggested 436 transgender women committed rape between 2012 and 2018, says Crown Prosecution Service

Sir Bernard Jenkin MP said 436 transgender women committed rape between 2012 and 2018.
The CPS has told Insider that this is not a correct reading of their data, and Jenkin is incorrect.
One MP has called on Jenkin to withdraw his comments, saying he is "fanning the flames of hate."

A Conservative MP wrongly suggested 436 transgender women committed rape between 2012 and 2018, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed.

Speaking at an International Women's Day debate in the Houses of Parliament on 10 March, Sir Bernard Jenkin MP set out his concern that transgender women commit violence against cisgender women. He said:

"Nearly all violence against women is committed by men, but there is a new and growing category of violence against women committed by people who call themselves women but are biologically male. We should always respond positively to people with genuine gender dysphoria, and I deliver this speech with kindness in my heart, but the Sexual Offences Act 2003 defines rape as when a person "intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person…with his penis" without consent.

The Crown Prosecution Service reports that between 2012 and 2018 more than 436 cases of rape were recorded as being committed by women. The penis is a male organ, so these rapes are committed by men presenting themselves as women."

But the CPS told Insider: "The figures could include cases involving women found guilty of rape as a secondary party and those where women are co-defendants in a case involving a rape offence, as well as those involving transgender women."

Labour MP Nadia Whittome described Jenkin's comments as "fanning the flames of hate" in an "already hostile environment for trans people," adding that "he should apologise and correct his misleading comments immediately."

Cleo Madeleine, a spokespeson at trans charity Gendered Intelligence, told Insider: "It is an all-too common strategy of anti-trans groups - particularly in Parliament - to portray trans women as predators.

"The CPS is correct, and the claim that 436 rapes were committed by trans women between 2012 and 2018 based on a is a complete fiction based on a narrow and prejudiced interpretation of the legal definition of rape."

Making such "false claims" can harm abuse survivors of all genders, she added.

"By spreading misinformation around sexual assault these claims obstruct the work of institutions like the CPS and erase the experiences of survivors."

Jenkin did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

This news comes just after the Government canceled its "Safe to be Me" conference on LGBTQ+ rights, after several groups withdrew support for the event in response to a U-turn on banning conversion therapy for trans people.

The decision on conversion therapy – which has been long awaited – received significant backlash from within the Conservative party. Tory MPs Dehenna Davison and William Wragg are among those to have gone public with their dismay.

—Dehenna Davison MP (@DehennaDavison) March 31, 2022

—William Wragg MP (@William_Wragg) April 5, 2022

Jamie Wallis, the first MP to come out as transgender, said he was "bitterly disappointed" that gender identity does not come into the ban on conversion therapy.

—Jamie Wallis MP (@JamieWallisMP) April 4, 2022

Speaking on Wednesday, Boris Johnson told UK broadcasters he was "very proud" to have banned conversion therapy on the subject of sexuality, but said there are "complexities and sensitivities when you move from the area sexualities to the question of gender."

He added: "This is something that —frankly, for people like me — this isn't something that I thought I'd have to consider in great detail. These are novel concepts."

Johnson also said that "biological males" should not be competing in women's sporting events, and that "women should have spaces that are dedicated to women," adding "that's as far as my thinking has developed on the issue."

Health secretary Sajid Javid also defended the government's decision not to ban conversion therapy Wednesday morning, saying that children can experience gender dysphoria as a result of child sex abuse and bullying.

—Kay Burley (@KayBurley) April 6, 2022

However, the British Psychological Association said it is "deeply worrying" that the government are not banning conversion therapy for trans people, saying such therapies are "unethical and potentially harmful."

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